Club Movie Screening: “THE HELPER”

Foreign domestic workers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, are arguably the lifeblood of Hong Kong. Our city has more than 350,000 such workers, mainly women, accounting for 9% of the total workforce. They work for 11% of all households, including 30% of all households with children. But how often do we hear their stories, and share in their struggles?

The crowd-funded documentary, “The Helper”, connects multiple intimate stories. The Unsung Heroes is a choir of 50 Filipinas that aim to perform before an audience of thousands at the Clockenflap music festival. Long-time domestic helper and avid climber Liza trains in Hong Kong but aims at the top of the world, where she wants to revisit a previous failed attempt in the Himalayas. Indonesian former helper Nurul is a new mother who has been wrongly accused and fired and has to deal with red tape to clear her name.

Joanna Bowers is a seasoned independent producer and director of television, film and commercials. She is also an experienced casting director. A native of the UK, she now lives in Hong Kong, working throughout Asia as a writer & director.